MIDLAND, Texas — Blasting off into learning. That's the goal the Midland Independent School District, Midland Development Corporation and non-profit Higher Orbits are seeking.
"A three event STEM focused program for up to 65 high school students to show them how to work with STEM and to excite them about careers in aerospace and space. It's for students of all ability levels. It's not just focused at the kids who are already passionate about that, it's for any student who's interested," Sara Harris, executive director of Midland Development Corporation said.
And how convenient, seeing as Midland has space companies here at the Spaceport.
These students will get to work one-on-one with astronauts and craft experiments of their own.
"To my knowledge it's the first specifically aerospace focused program for high school students in Midland," Harris said.
If approval goes through, they're estimating a launch of the program in October.
"The timing and the student selection process will be entirely up to the school district, so they'll work it in with students who are interested and available and with the school district's calendar," Harris said.
And investments? They're upwards of $110K.
"That includes all supplies, all speakers that will be astronauts working one-on-one with the students and it also includes the final competition stage in which a winning group of students will see an experiment launched to the International Space Station.
The realm of space learning, in the hands of Midland's mission control.